Internal documents from Tesla have been leaked to Business Insider which seem to suggest that Tesla is no longer running a standard brake test on its Model 3 units. It's not clear why the decision was made, but the firm is under pressure to meet targets which it only just started to achieve.
According to sources, Elon Musk himself seems to have told engineers at the Fremont California factory to stop running the standard brake test, called brake and roll, that is common across the industry. The test was then shut down sometime around 3am on Tuesday, June 26 - the same week Tesla managed to reach its goal of producing 5,000 units of the Model 3.
The axed test is designed to make sure the car’s wheels are perfectly aligned and that the brakes function properly. This is tested by taking the car’s engine up to a certain RPM, and seeing how brakes respond on diagnostic machines.
While the lack of testing certainly sounds ominous, Tesla spokesperson, Dave Arnold, said:
“To be extremely clear, we drive *every* Model 3 on our test track to verify braking, torque, squeal, and rattle. There are no exceptions.”
Ron Harbour, a consultant at Oliver Wyman, said that with the tests being abandoned, Tesla could face a lot of quality issues with customers, and that any manufacturer would be very lucky if everything on the car was in alignment
Let us know in the comments what you think about a premium car brand foregoing these checks.
Source: Business Insider | Image via Tesla
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